Indiana University Athletics
The Antwaan Randle El Quotebook:
10/21/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Antwaan Randle El Quotebook:
Iowa head coach Hayden Fry: "Their quarterback is one of if not the most exciting quarterbacks I've seen in this conference in years and years and years. He's extremely gifted, talented, he's got an excellent arm, throws the ball well, but he's probably as good an option quarterback as anyone in the country. He's very bright, makes good decisions and he's got a good supporting cast. He's truly special. He's kind of like I was talking about (current Atlanta Falcon) Tim Dwight. He was worth the price of admission. Come watch this kid play. I've only had a couple players like that in all my coaching. He's so similar (to Dwight). The great thing about this kid is he's taking every snap. He's going to make something happen. We can't impersonate him at all (in practice). Every film I've looked at, you can tell that the defensive teams they're playing against underestimate just how quick and fast this kid really is."
Joe Falls of the Detroit News: "But if you were a neutral fan, you had to come away shaking your head in awe at the performance by Antwaan Randle El, Indiana's redshirt freshman quarterback. I thought I had seen the premier quarterback show of the season when Donovan McNabb of Syracuse ran Michigan ragged in the second game of the season. If Barry Sanders was a quarterback, this is what he would look like. Michigan State had no idea how to stop him ­­ not his snake-like running, his pitchouts on the option or his passes. His performance (21 runs for 134 yards, 10 of 16 passing for 147 yards: total 281 yards) was simply sensational, and they say he can play basketball as well as he can football."
Michigan State DT Robert Newkirk: "It was like 'Tom and Jerry' and I was the big cat chasing the little mouse. He was unbelievably quick and made a lot of good decisions."
Western Michigan head coach Gary Darnell: "He was like trying to catch a 180-pound bass."
Michigan State linebacker Courtney Ledyard: "When you go against someone as good as he is, it can be rough. ... he is a great player who will make plays out of nothing.
Michigan State head coach Nick Saban: "He's a great player and you have to do things perfectly to contain him."
Saban said Randle El reminded him of Freddie Solomon, who the Spartan coach played against in college. Solomon, who went on to become a receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, was a quarterback at the University of Tampa. "Solomon was the last quarterback that I've ever seen as quick and elusive and that could accelerate like (Randle El) did," said Saban.
